I'm sorry Ms. Kolb, the Rams are for real!

How ‘bout that defense!?

Man, that was a heck of a showing on primetime television for the world to see. The Rams sent a message to the league, one that proclaimed the Jeff Fisher era has not only begun but spells a tough game for any team that’s on the schedule this year. Win or lose, you can count on this defense to make it tough if not thoroughly painful for their opposition.

Let’s go unit by unit, shall we?

-Sam Bradford made some big throws tonight. The playaction to Danny early in the game was underthrown, probably due to Sam being hit during the last moment of it, but close enough for a great catch. Sam buying time to find Kendricks on the touchdown was fantastic. Recognizing and hitting the deep bomb to Givens was amazing. Beyond that, it was a night Sam will probably want to forget. The stretch of twelve incompletions wasn’t entirely his fault, but I saw more poor throws than I did drops and protection collapses. Mayock was right on the poor placement of the endzone interception as well. Still, as we've said before about Sam this season, he rebounded when he needed to, finding Givens for a touchdown that many probably felt put the game out of reach for Arizona.

-Steven Jackson rushed like a man who had something to play for. Maybe the news about his contract had him thinking about the need to make a good impression on primetime television, or maybe he simply smelled blood in the water. But Jackson had some nice runs, especially after contact, and especially in the second half when the offense needed a shot in the arm. Richardson had a decent night as well, though I’d caution those who are already proclaiming him as Jackson’s heir apparent to pull the reigns a bit.

-The biggest news for the receivers is negative, as Danny Amendola will once again be sidelined for a portion of the season with a broken collarbone. He made a great adjustment and one-handed catch early in the game on that play action bomb, and did his best to come up with a perfectly placed lofted ball along the sideline later. He and Sam weren’t on the same page on a strike over the middle that could have extended the drive. After Danny, there wasn’t much consistency to be had. Givens beat his man on a deep touchdown pass, but had a rough night otherwise. Gibson was rather quiet overall, but not as quiet as Pettis. And then there’s Quick, who was just silent. Someone’s going to have to step up with Danny out; expect Steve Smith to be active from this point forward.

-The offensive line deserves some credit. They weren’t outstanding; there were still some pressures allowed and more than a few instances where the running room was tough to come by. But they did enough to keep Sam off the turf aside from one sack on a double blitz up the middle, and allowed Jackson and Richardson to combine for more yards than the Cardinals allowed on averaged coming into the game. Barry Richardson had some rough spots, but Quinn Ojinnaka’s name wasn’t called as much as Rams fans probably expected, and Wayne Hunter held up pretty well.

-Now, the defense. It all started up front, and this unit was simply fierce. Chris Long is emerging as not only one of my favorite Rams of his time, but perhaps all time. I love his tenacity and the way he just constantly motors to get pressure on the quarterback. Long is leading the league in hurries for 4-3 defensive ends, and it’s not because he’s the fastest to the edge, but he is just so technical and dangerous. Robert Quinn is really emerging on the other side as well; he racked up three sacks of his own and a forced fumble that sealed the game. This group was better against the run than they have been in previous games, hopefully indicating a corner may be turning mid-season for this team.

-The linebackers were active in both the running and passing game. They contained Ryan Williams to only 33 yards on 14 rushes, and aside from a draw play that was well timed and executed, it never looked like the Cardinals had any kind of room to run. James Laurinaitis and Jo-Lonn Dunbar both came away with sacks, adding to the party that the Rams scheduled in the Cardinals backfield. Dunbar was particularly shifty in covering a crossing route of Larry Fitzgerald, getting away with some perfect veteran hand placement on Fitz’s back to put him in position to break up a pass.

-Larry Fitzgerald’s final game stat line would lead those who didn’t watch the game to think he did more damage than he actually did. Sure, you always have to be concerned about Fitz, but there was never a time when I was actually worried about him, if that makes sense. The Rams covered him well, aside from a 29-yard catch and run after Kolb scrambled for his life. Considering they also did a good job containing Calvin Johnson in the season debut, this secondary deserves a lot of praise. Janoris Jenkins may be leading the pack in terms of best 2012 draft pick, which is great news to those of us who were scared of what the Rams may have ultimately got when they selected him. But he had a great pass break-up after being beat, leaping to deflect the ball. He was a blanket all night and didn’t embarrass himself as a tackler either. Cortland Finnegan was his nasty self, and his best moment may have come on a fourth down sack that ended a potential scoring drive for Arizona. This is a hard hitting, in your face secondary; a far cry from the units the Rams have fielded in the past.

-What can you say about these two rookie kickers? Greg Zuerlein is just phenomenal, and he made his 53-yarder look like a chip shot. There’s going to come a time when he’s going to miss a long one, and we’re all going to be disappointed, forgetting at the time how hard of a kick it probably was because he simply makes them all look easy. And Hekker? Come on, son! Your directional punt to Arizona’s six yard line before halftime was a thing of beauty. I’d be hard pressed to find any drop off from Donnie Jones in our punting game, and in fact I wouldn’t argue with those who say it’s better now.

-Look, if you weren’t a believer in the difference a competent coach can make for a football team, you need to be one now. This team is playing with a torch lit under them. They’re playing nasty, tough football that Rams fans haven’t seen in a while. They never played like this under Linehan or Spagnuolo, despite the latter’s reputation for being a fine crafter of defenses. This is something else entirely. This Rams defense is going to hit you in the mouth and give you another on every play that follows. They’re going to make you work for it, and we haven’t seen that in a long time. They’re competing in every game, and this is without much consistency from the offense. The Rams are already a team to be reckoned with, and when that side of the ball gets going, watch out. The coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for having these guys playing as well as they are, despite talent deficiencies and youth and all these other obstacles we discuss every week. They’ve helped make Rams football fun to watch again.

Re: I'm sorry Ms. Kolb, the Rams are for real!

Janoris Jenkins looked great last night. He's really shaping up into a fantastic rookie corner. He moves like a vet out there, making up ground, and already has the instincts of someone beyond his years. It will be exciting to watch him develop on the other side of Finnegan. He handled one of the best in Fitzgerald, and should have had a pick six last night to go along with that big time tackle to keep him out of the end zone.

Re: I'm sorry Ms. Kolb, the Rams are for real!

Janoris Jenkins may be leading the pack in terms of best 2012 draft pick, which is great news to those of us who were scared of what the Rams may have ultimately got when they selected him.

I come before this fine congregation today begging forgiveness and mercy. I misjudged this young man. I thought drafting him at all would be a huge mistake. I thought he'd be spending his days lighting up like a chimney.

I...........was an anti-Jenkite. As such, I made numerous anti-Jenkitic slurs and epithets.

"Before the gates of excellence the high gods have placed sweat; long is the road thereto and rough and steep at first; but when the heights are reached, then there is ease, though grievously hard in the winning." --- Hesiod

Re: I'm sorry Ms. Kolb, the Rams are for real!

Great write up Nick!

These are exciting times for sure, when you think we have so much young talent and more to come. When I visit other boards for teams in the west, someone always has a post about all the draft picks still to come!

Bradford for sure not his best game as a QB but it was his best game ever as a pro football player. In the NFL there will be games that are really physical and dominated by defense and the QB needs to find a way to make plays. Tonight Sam made them and Kolb did not.

A few plays that stood out to me. The second pass play to Danny, Sam stepped up into the face of the pressure knowing he would get hit. Reminded me of Warner on that play. Third down 16, he scrambles and puts his head down to pick it up. It was called back on a hold but he sent the message to his guys. The TD pass to Kendricks, he feels the pressure and rolls to his left and throws a strike. The INT in the endzone, sometimes I think Sam is just to safe with the ball takes too many sacks. On this play he had two guys barring down on him and tried to give Quick a chance. Deep ball concerns can be put to rest I would think.

Jenkins, after the game, Prime Time said Jenkins is flat out balling and he could be an elite CB. Coming from him that means something. Long is a great teammate, he gave props to Quinn before the game saying he will the elite DE and I will be just the other guy. Then after the game on the set he gave it up to him twice, mentioning what a great game he had. To think these two guys will be here a long time and Brockers could become a force in the middle.

Not going to lie every time Peterson got his hands on a punt I feared the worst. Last week GZ shows us he can impact a game tonight Hekker did the same.. not sure what his net was but he hits some bombs.

Re: I'm sorry Ms. Kolb, the Rams are for real!

It was a tough, rough, and ugly game. It was tough to watch our offense go through almost 2 quarters without a first down. It was rough seeing Danny go down again. It was ugly to see a human being beaten up, man-handled, and abused like Kevin Kolb was. Kevin Kolb knows just how ugly the NFL can be. To his credit, he kept coming back for more. That took guts.

"Before the gates of excellence the high gods have placed sweat; long is the road thereto and rough and steep at first; but when the heights are reached, then there is ease, though grievously hard in the winning." --- Hesiod

Re: I'm sorry Ms. Kolb, the Rams are for real!

Nice write up Nick,
I loved how the defense is playing right now & dreaming of it only getting better as the gel together over the season. And Jenkins is really coming along very quickly, the play he made laying out to swat the ball away from the rec. was just outstanding.

Re: I'm sorry Ms. Kolb, the Rams are for real!

Originally Posted by HUbison

I come before this fine congregation today begging forgiveness and mercy. I misjudged this young man. I thought drafting him at all would be a huge mistake. I thought he'd be spending his days lighting up like a chimney.

I...........was an anti-Jenkite. As such, I made numerous anti-Jenkitic slurs and epithets.

I was a sinner. Lost, but now found. Blind...but now I see.

You are forgiven, my son. Now to complete your absolution you must do 50 push ups while singing all 5 verses of "Amazing Grace".

Re: I'm sorry Ms. Kolb, the Rams are for real!

I just feel sorry for Kolb. First he gets traded to the CARDINALS then when he finally gets a chance to play, he has to stare down the Rams D! I gotta give Kolb credit though, the guy got pounded, and still was up and throwing at the end of the game, driving the Cards downfield. Can't say he isn't tough.